Israel deploys forces in search for Israeli missing in West Bank

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Soldiers launched searches in the occupied West Bank on Thursday for an Israeli feared abducted since disappearing after heading to a Palestinian village for tools to fix a flat tyre, Israeli spokesmen said.

The searches were the most widespread by Israeli forces in the territory since a June dragnet for three abducted Israeli settlers whose bodies were found two weeks later in the same area, near the West Bank city of Hebron.

The Israeli military said in a statement that security forces had reported a suspected abduction and troops had launched "extensive searches in the area" of the village of Beit Anun near Hebron, near where news reports said he had last been seen.

Security spokesman Micky Rosenberg said extra forces had been deployed in response to an emergency call from an Israeli who reported "a broken down vehicle and a friend had walked off looking for assistance to fix the tyre”.

The man who had sought help "has gone missing and there's an extensive search in the area for him," Rosenberg said.

"We are worried we are talking about a security related situation and possible kidnapping. But it's not clear," Rosenberg added.

Israeli media described the missing man only as 22 years old and from southern Israel. Neither the military nor police would comment on his identity.

There have been no claims by any Palestinian groups of any abductions or attacks in the area.